


Price of a Most Fleeting Memory

by tomara



Category: Captain Harlock
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Illnesses, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Non-graphic depictions of illness, Poisoning, Pre-Femslash, Science Fiction, Sickfic, Whump, fem!Harlock, fem!Tochiro - mentioned, in memories yea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:46:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22846594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomara/pseuds/tomara
Summary: Arcadia catches a distress signal coming from the planet Alpha Centauri 4B. And what looks like an almost routine mission turns out as not the easiest test for Kei Yuki.
Relationships: Harlock (Captain Harlock)/Miime | La Mime
Kudos: 2





	Price of a Most Fleeting Memory

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Цена самого мимолётного воспоминания](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/561622) by Lie Is A Cake. 



> Idk what to do about the relationship tags... there's Harmime for sure but it's vague, you can read it as close friendship or smth. It's close to their canonical relationship I guess...
> 
> In my kinda AU Arcadia is an AI and can talk. I can go into the depths of how I see technology and Tochiro/Arcadia's AI being separate beings but the fic's not about that it barely touches that stuff...
> 
> I don't change Harlock's name as it not a real-life name (more like a title) so it can be considered gender-neutral. fem!Tochiro is Tochiko, she appears in memories only. 
> 
> It is a rough translation of my own work, I don't handle my second language as well in literary fields so here you have it

“That's it, I caught it,” Kei turned away from the radio screen. “The distress signal comes from Alpha Centauri-4B.”

Harlock nodded. Centauri-4B... Something old was rising in her when she heard this name. No, the memories were associated with many planets, one way or another located near the Solar System, but Centauri-4B caused something special. Warm. Such an unusual feeling where temperatures tended to absolute zero.

“Head to the distress call,” Harlock ordered.

“It will be done,” answered Arcadia, and the engines made a familiar noise.

Kei got up from her chair and stretched.

“You think something’s still left there?” she said skeptically. “We took our time tinkering with the signal, and it’s not a short way either...”

“It will be better than inaction. As a last resort, we will gather resources.”

“There are many motivations, and not all of them lie on the surface,” Mime finished in her own way.

Kei did not attach any significance to the words of Mime, and remembered them a little later. Instead, she wondered how Harlock could be so calm about death. Even the death of unfamiliar people.

When Kei hadn’t yet become a college dropout, respected astronauts, scientists, and security specialists came on meetings with students. Most often those who have been flying in space for forty years, no less. And they were afraid of death.

Kei clearly remembered that their voice began to go astray when it came to precautionary measures. Why, it would seem?.. Or, when students asked to tell the worst cases from experience, veteran researchers stammered and told some kind of nonsense. But Kei knew... and everyone in the audience knew. The price of even the smallest oversight.

Harlock didn't seem to care about those things. But she was not immortal, in fact... So, she saw or knew something? Kei sighed. Several hours remained before arrival, and the thought of death was definitely not what you should fill your head with in outer space.

***

Kei waited at the entrance, stretching and leafing through her notes. They made a landing without incident, so it was even strange that someone was in trouble on such a peaceful planet.

“Captain, are you going?” Kei shouted, and at that very minute Harlock appeared in full armor from around the corner of the corridor.

“I was looking for something,” she reported. Kei knew perfectly that the excuses and explanations of her actions were not in the spirit of Harlock. “So the pollen is poisonous?”

“Yes. And guess what Dr. Zero asked me to gather for experiments?” Kei grumbled, going into the hallway. “Yeah. Well, you are going anyway, it’s not difficult for you...”

“It looks like you're happy with it,” Harlock shrugged.

The door to the hallway slammed shut, and a white light lit up above the exit.

“Exposing myself to mortal danger?” Kei grinned, although this was not visible through the breathing mask. “This is the main condition to get a place at Arcadia, no?”

Kei couldn’t see Harlock’s smile either. But she subconsciously knew that captain definitely liked this joke. Meanwhile, the hallway doors parted, revealing a view of the vast plain covered with yellow flowers. They grew a little taller than human height, and you could definitely stick your head in the bud. And pollen was everywhere around. Large flakes floating in the air nearby and as far as the naked eye could see.

And in the distance, the side plating glittered. Kei could still hear the distress call...

Kei dropped off the collector drone, taking care of the pollen. After that, she and Harlock moved forward. They walked with habitual speed, but to Kei it seemed like she had been walking forever. Harlock said almost nothing, even when Kei called out to her, asking to look at the boat (and this was definitely a transport no bigger than a boat). She seemed to be lost in thoughts, but what can you think about on this empty planet, except for a distress signal?

Kei didn't like it at all. The field looked unreal, too flat, too evenly overgrown with grass, and the pollen flew too evenly... as if at one point all this had to roll over, exposing a hideous trap. So why did Harlock look so enchanted?!

Kei shook her head. She studied to be a rescuer, and from lectures she took out the only and most important thing: panic is the worst enemy.

But Kei was hard to keep calm at the crash site. Сrash site. The boat's roof was folded back, the boat itself was neatly set, and a body was lying very close. It spread its arms and legs, everything spread out to the sides, opened its mouth wide, grabbed the grass, and Kei, trembling, found nothing but to turn on the communication channel.

“Doc, there’s a corpse. Do I bring it to you?”

Sometimes stupid jokes were the only thing that kept Kei's mind in real space, which turned out to be different from room simulations.

“What happened to it?” Dr. Zero calmly responded.

“It seems... not from the fall. He is whole.”Kei could not take her eyes off its mouth, frozen in a silent scream.

“The ship is fine, too,” Harlock interrupted. “Must be pollen?”

“Curious. Well, you surely need to be more careful with the corpses,” Dr. Zero advised. “Okay, get pollen first, then we’ll think about it.”

Kei thought for a moment. And Zero, too... as if death was commonplace for the crew of Arcadia. Although for a biologist — why not...

“Already on it,” Kei reported and disconnected. “Captain... so if it’s a boat, is there a station nearby? Why didn't they help him?”

“There are definitely no orbital stations around 4B. The nearest one is on Proxima.” Harlock walked around the boat, carefully inspecting the plating. “From a ship, I think. But I don’t see any emblems...”

“If the board computer is working...” Kei stumbled. She did not want to sit where the corpse used to be. “We can see.”

Harlock nodded. Now Kei was obliged to board a dead boat there, but if she delved into the computer, she could be distracted... Kei took a deep breath and sat down in the seat. She got dizzy.”

“Yes, it seems that the whole system is in order,” Kei nodded, seeing the launch icon on the screen.

The receiver was full of distress signals. They’ve been broadcasted automatically for eight hours now, so it was hard to tell when the death came. Kei swallowed... A man appeared before her eyes, frantically looking at the computer screen. Dying from something inknown, alone in the damned serene field. On a fully operational boat. Kei imagined herself, and her hands shook.

Trying to overcome the trembling all over her body and figure out where the black box was located in the files, Kei did not notice Harlock leaving. She was neither around nor near, and the panic intensified.

“C-captain, where are you?” Kei called out.

She did not know what was about to happen. But she was left alone. In the middle of the field. Alone. She will surely die of it!

“I'm here,” a signal lamp blinked in the pollen curtain. “I have to do something.”

“Fine,” Kei did not protest. That, in general, would be pointless. “Stay in touch.”

And her body was struck with a shiver again. Alone. Kei knew that she needed to find the black box, that Harlock should not leave alone, but the causeless panic claimed that Kei should not get out of the boat. After all, the body is outside...

...And clusters of pollen flying around. Last time, nothing bloomed on 4B, and it depressed Harlock a bit: another reminder that everything had changed.

But it was only that Harlock arrived here alone. Tochiko flashed before her eyes, her stupid comments about flowers, the plain, speculation and another scheme on the tablet, which she did not let out of her hands even while walking. At 4B there was spring. Flowering season. And still this place was different, dead, silent.

If she could breathe as before, the same air that she breathed in with Tochiko... maybe this loss would not have happened? Harlock wouldn’t feel it with every cell of her body, would forget everything for a moment, she just needed to tear off the mask. Earlier. Earlier. A wide battered hat trembled because her hands trembled, the whole body trembled with delight and anticipation. She will breathe!

With admiration, her throat and nose burned, almost incinerating, but Harlock laughed. She deeply inhaled the yellow dust, fresh air, the same fresh air, and Tochiko looked at her fervently through the thick lenses of her glasses, smiling so kindly, showing all her teeth. And Harlock smiled back at her, absorbing the familiar air.

And then her breath was blocked. Again, a heavy mask changed the air bursting into the lungs. And the fire in her throat no longer felt like a pleasant tingling sensation. It was burning out. It was as if it were all over, and only Kei stood nearby.

“Can you hear me?! Do you hear that?!” through the veil came a nervous cry. “Mime! She breathed in! I don’t know! I don’t know what it is!”

“Come back immediately,” was heard in the speakers synchronously. “Harlock. Yuki. Listen to my voice. I feel something painful. Intoxication. Come back immediately.”

Mime didn’t stop talking while they were returning. Her voice really brought out of the panic, but did not remove it to the end. Rather... served as a guiding light. Harlock did not say anything, but went forward, and this was enough for Kei. Just to be in time. Catch up on an already committed mistake.

The seconds of disinfection in the hallway seemed like an eternity. When the door finally opened, Kei ran into the hallway, never letting go of Harlock’s hand. Mime was there. Doctor. Someone else... Kei tore off the gas mask, feeling the panic gradually recede.

“Take her to the medical bay!” someone ordered.

Kei turned her head. Toxic pollen, for sure... So, that is the price of the error.

The corridor went past, people turned into spots, and Kei ran after someone. To the medical bay. She is responsible for this, she made a mistake, if only they would say something comforting, let Dr. Zero examine this pollen, something squeezed in her chest, heavy and frightening.

Harlock stopped in the middle of the corridor, and threw up a viscous yellow liquid.

***

Kei looked at the floor, nervously wringing her fingers. Dr. Zero was extremely busy, and therefore could not give any forecasts. But it was also good. Let him work. Kei was only depressed that she herself would not do anything. Could, but... a chance was lost. And now her mistake had to be dealt with by others.

“Mime!” Kei nearly knocked her, having seen in the corridor. “What’s with her?! You know?!”

It was amazing how Mime could remain calm when the whole ship was consumed with panic. Although Kei guessed that it was the difference in reactions to anxiety...

“They took pollen and the dead body aboard. Arcadia's systems have already begun analysis,”Mime said. “I don't know about Harlock... I feel, but I don't know myself.”

“F-fine... fine,” Kei nodded.

She did not know whether to stay in the hallway or go after Mime. She wanted to talk, ask, but something was stopping in her throat. After her oversight, Kei no longer felt that she was treated the same way.

“Hm?” Mime turned around as if she could hear Kei's thoughts.

“It's my fault,” Kei couldn't stand it anymore. “My fault as a partner. I succumbed to panic.”

“Harlock is higher in rank, and according to the regulations it’s her fault... but there is no point in looking for the guilty,” Mime tilted her head slightly. “The fault may be on the whole crew that decided to use outdated data and did not predict the release of nitrogen in this area.”

“But I succumbed to panic. Because of nitrogen poisoning... And Harlock is now... because of me...” Kei clenched her fists, feeling a lump treacherously stabbing her throat.

“We still don't know what Harlock succumbed to,” Mime turned her head from side to side.

Tears still treacherously rolled down Kei's cheeks. Not even from guilt, but from the realization that neither Mime nor Kei can ever know this.

Behind the door in the hallway, Harlock had been struggling with fever for several hours. The sheets were unpleasantly sticky to the body from sweat; the temperature declared by Arcadia was scary, but Harlock felt only a burning sensation in her throat and nose. It never stopped, and it was especially painful to puke every couple of minutes. Harlock could only toss and turn and repeat that it burns, burns, burns.

Dr. Zero was poking around. He muttered something, answered Harlock's mutterings, ran from the computer to the pantry, and... there wasn’t much benefit from him.

When he brought water, for a couple of moments it became a little easier. But then Harlock vomited even harder and more painfully than all the previous times, and there were a hell of a lot of them, and Zero put her an IV. Let it be.

Harlock wanted to sleep. Maybe even wash off sweat and change sheets, but this is not necessary. Just to relax. Close her eyes. In a few hours, both sharp and dull pain turned into a tiring background, a buzz that she wanted to cut down. But it did not back down. And Harlock couldn't get used to enough to fall asleep. Dr. Zero walked again with the ampoule.

Is it really impossible to continue treatment after sleep?..

After some time, Mime entered the room. Harlock could not say whether she was glad to see her: feelings of pain and fatigue came before.

Mime sat down on a chair by the bed, arranging the harp in her hands more comfortably. It was still silent, like Mime, like Harlock, like everything in the medical chamber except for reading devices. Harlock closed her eyes.

“We are not advised to disturb the sick, but I came to reassure,” Mime said quietly.

“Well, what do they say about me?” Harlock wheezed weakly.

“No certainties,” Mime bowed her head. “You will be fine if the poison can be removed from the body. Otherwise, Zero develops an antidote.”

Harlock nodded. Speaking was still hard.

“Nitrogen is a catalyst for the psyche, but it does not cause new reactions,” Mime ran her fingers along the strings, fingering and trying sounds. “What did you see when you took off your mask?..”

Harlock sighed, silent for a moment. It was as if she was ashamed to admit her vision, her intoxication, her painful memory.

“Tochiko.”

Mime did not answer, and only the harp sounded iridescently in the walls of the medical bay, blocking the squeak and buzz of theequipment. Except for the harp, everything disappeared, and soon Harlock fell into a heavy, comatose-like sleep.

Of course, no one but Mime was allowed to approach Harlock. So Kei was preoccupying herself with decoding a copy of the black box. Not all levels of the cipher were possible to crack without sensible training, and the captain of the mother ship would hardly have helped to enter it... Most likely, he was dead.

Kei dug up the fact that the ship with which the same boat was connected was destroyed sometime after departure. That man — whoever he was — was doomed from the very beginning. He was too far from the orbital station, from the passing ships, and all he could do was send help signals to the vacuum. And then land on an unfamiliar planet and die.

Dr. Zero stated from the very beginning that death was due to the toxin in the pollen that Harlock had been poisoned with.

Kei moved away from the board computer. She was no longer as scared as under nitrogen, but something heavy inside prevented her breathing anyway. She wanted to talk with Mime. About death.

Kei did not understand why she took part in so many battles on Arcadia, but thoughts of death began to overtake her only now. Maybe because of the contrast? A routine mission and the poisoning, a calm plain and a human body. Death awaited where Kei did not even think to meet her.

Then the Arcadia network, as the second crew member, held a briefing. Then Kei planned the flight to Proxima with the crew (the equipment there was much better than in the field laboratory), then she listened to Dr. Zero enthusiastically explaining the effect of pollen, which turned out to be a little closer to the spores and began to sprout immediately after the death of that unfortunate... And after that Kei had so much of her own business that when she found free time, she spent it on a short sleep. There was no conversation with Mime.

When Kei woke up, Arcadia has already entered orbit. Kei stretched, brushing the dream out of her eyes, and then her heart began beating rapidly. What about Harlock?! Fatigue testified that Kei had fallen asleep for a short time, but it seemed that an eternity had been missed. Kei jumped up and ran into the medical compartment.

It was tightly closed. Which, however, did not say anything yet. Kei ran down the hall, trying to catch the distant sound of the harp. Mime must know.

Having reached the captain’s cabin, Kei knocked out of habit and entered. Mime sat alone, slowly fingering the strings. If Kei wasn’t so excited, she would have noticed that the melody sounds completely different.

“How’s captain?!” Kei blurted out.

“They got her temperature down,” Mime answered, not looking up from the instrument. “Harlock must be on the captain’s bridge.”

“The temperature? But she isn’t better?” Kei could barely stand still.

“It’s hard for me to judge... The toxin is not completely excreted, but this can happen later. Or it can be harmless in such quantities?” Mime lowered her head, speaking barely audible through the harp. “I would like to know this as much as you do.”

Kei sighed heavily. All the questions she wanted to ask Mime disappeared, turned into a mess from excitement before meeting with Harlock.

Kei exchanged a nod with Mime and left. Now she was in an even worse situation than a few hours ago. A few hours ago, she did not expect anything, no dynamics, and now time has become viscous, impassable, and Kei felt herself hanging over the abyss — not otherwise. It would be her fault if... Kei exhaled. Not. Proxima is still ahead, flying to it is nothing, nothing should happen. Nothing.

Kei herself did not notice how she reached the captain’s bridge.

And raised her head. Stars lined up in familiar constellations, shining and only slightly illuminating the blackening void. Proxima Centauri was not visible from here, but Kei was not looking. She was surprised that for the first time the cosmos gave her peace, and not obsessive thoughts about possible disasters. Harlock was here too. Covered with sensors, with an IV attached to her shoulder, and in only the hospital gown. Looking at the stars.

“Good awakening,” Kei stood awkwardly beside her. “How are you, captain?”

“Enjoying the view while I can,” she smiled at Kei.

Kei sighed. And why did Harlock seem calmer than herself?

Two women stood in silence until one of them dared to speak. Kei did not want to look miserable, but all the words went wrong. She knew her cues by heart while running to the medical compartment, while talking to Mime, and now she seemed to have her mouth sealed, and even to open it would be an incredible effort...

“I’m concerned about the last mission,” Kei finally spoke up. It sounded like an imitation of Arcadia's speech, no less.

“Ah...” Harlock smiled amiably, as if she knew what was going on. But she continued anyway. “And what about it? Except mine, ahem, intoxication.”

“I think... that I was not competent enough,” Kei hesitated. “In particular, I succumbed to panic...”

“Kei.”

Harlock turned to her, resting her hand on her shoulder. Kei was worried by a bluish rash all over her palm and forearm, but she wasn’t staring at it for long: her thoughts were immediately filled more important things.

“I would not be standing here even in that state, if not for you. A woman’s honor is not to avoid mistakes, but to find the strength to correct them each time,” Harlock closed her eyes, and then looked reproachfully at Kei. “And not to bow before me for every mistake.”

Kei scratched her head guiltily and nodded. And then, finally, for the first time in several hours, she calmly sat down to work. Checking the Arcadia network for system errors, scanning the condition of engines and life support systems, the defense system and everything else that now seemed to be part of the usual routine. Like before arriving at 4B.

This span was the calmest. Harlock was almost never in the ward: she walked around the ship, talked with the crew, even laughed about something with Dr. Zero, listened to the fate of the boat and even helped Kei decode a little more. And her eyes did not lose their spark. Not a minute. As if she were happy, spending hours without pain among the stars and still not stopping following something in her heart.

Mime also seemed happy. It was not necessary to catch the alien's facial expressions in order to understand that she almost literally glowed next to Harlock. She played something interesting on the harp, exchanged stories, and Kei joined in, trying not to look at the cyanotic rash and the sensor wires.

Sometimes Kei could not get away from the impression that she was sitting at a farewell dinner. But then the enthusiasm of the crew captured her, and Kei continued humming the song to the sounds of the harp, chatting with Harlock, Mime, running from terminal to terminal to the grumbling of Arcadia...

Hardly on a quarter of the way, Harlock complained she was feeling ill and asked Mime to bring her to the ward. The harp, too, subsided, and Mime and Harlock leisurely went towards the medical bay.

In the room, Mime straightened a fresh sheet, helped Harlock lie down and made sure that all of her body (with her strange thermoregulation) was well covered.

“Thanks. You can go then…” Harlock yawned. “I’ll take a nap.”

“Sweet dreams,” Mime nodded, shaking her head back and forth.

Since then, Kei has been in the ward only once.

Harlock was sleeping then, and Kei could only sit next to her and read the disappointing data on the monitor. Adrenal insufficiency... heart murmurs... diagnoses incomprehensible to a person without a medical education. Kei, however, felt awful even without the education.

She looked at Harlock, at the purple rash on her pale blue skin, thinking about Dr. Zero’s words. Of course, he did not want to say anything directly. Even to himself.

Remembering how Harlock’s eyes sparkled the last time, Kei did not allow herself to sob in the room. Only in her cabin.

Arcadia was halfway to Proxima Centauri.

Mime was barely seen. Kei knew she was in the ward, and... that's it. Nobody saw her, and the need to talk felt sharper and sharper. Imaginary dialogs did not really help.

“What kind of system cleaning... you are going to get off course...” Kei grumbled, looking at the message from the network on the monitor. “Fine, I’ll think about it.”

Strange as it may seem, routine duties seemed twice as pleasant. While you deal with the capricious system of Arcadia (Harlock’s deputy, by the way), you could not think about anything if you tried hard enough. Kei tried, but it turned out badly.

“You feel very strange, for some reason,” a voice came not far from the viewing window. “I did not have time to pay attention to this, but...”

Kei turned to Mime. There was an awkward silence that Kei did not know how to break.

“Well, I wanted to talk to you. Maybe that's why,”Kei shrugged.

“Then talk.”

“I wanted to ask for a long time... what is your view on death?” said Kei quietly. After spending these days thinking about death, this question did not seem so strange.

“Do you mean the death of the body?” Mime bowed her head. “This is something I'm waiting for. My current cycle is a small stop on the way through the universe, and when I die, I will enter a new one. That is why the death of my planet does not upset me — I know that they have found a new life among stars and galaxies. Only the loneliness on my way saddens me...”

“So you believe in reincarnation,” Kei sighed thoughtfully. “Thank you ... for telling me.”

“You could compare our faith with human reincarnation, yes,” Mime nodded. “But we never saw death as a tragedy. I find something... pacifying in the thought that they are still here, in the same dimension with me and, and once, cycles past, our stops could intersect... Even the endless network of Arcadia could be someone’s stop.”

“She... well, a net,” Kei smiled weakly. “Although that would well explain why she is so cranky.”

“I would refrain from subjective statements in my direction,” the network’s voice came from the speaker.

“Here you have it!” laughed Kei.

***

An improvised night fell on Arcadia. That period of time when most of the crew was asleep, but this time Mime did not need sleep. And she could not sleep. Mime walked past Kei's cabin, stopped for a moment and continued on. To the medical bay.

There was still a faint light in the room. Harlock wasn’t sleeping. Mime felt everything right, and at the same time it saddened and reassured her.

She was lying on the bed, breathing heavily and seemingly looking at Mime. The face didn’t express anything, and the body didn’t express anything, but Mime felt that this night's visit brought Harlock some peace.

“It’s hot,” Mime said quietly, touching her cheeks strewn with spots.

“M... Mime,” Harlock called weakly. “D… drink.”

Without saying anything, Mime went to the table with medicines and took a bottle. She sat down by the bed and gently placed the bottle on Harlock's lips, slowly pouring water. Harlock swallowed greedily, not paying attention to the fact that more water fell on the pillow and sheets.

When Harlock quenched her thirst, Mime set the bottle aside, still not saying anything. She let Harlock catch her breath.

“I'm afraid of... dying,” Harlock whispered what Mime for some reason did not want to hear. – “I... I imagined death... not... like that.”

Mime was silent.

“I thought... I’ll die... in b-battle. Performing my duty. B-but...” Harlock coughed. “Y-you... see...”

Mime was silent.

“I... don't want to... die that way. In the chase... for the dead,” Harlock faltered, but now from tears, and not from the weakness of her voice. “T-then... I... wanted to see her. I would’ve... taken off... ack... the mask without nitrogen... I am so...”

Mime was silent. Harlock sobbed, sobbed to the buzzing and squeaking of equipment, and soon for Mime, her voice became the only sound in the room.

“She... she wouldn’t want... me... dying... so...”

Mime held Harlock tightly to herself. Almost her whole body, but Mime was no longer hot. Her body burned, every skin cell burned, and her face was charred with tears, with which she could never cry. Fingers glided along Harlock’s back, along every trace of the folds of the sheets, along spots of bluish rash, and Mime felt everything: chilling fear, despair, burning resentment, and an irresistible desire to live, not to die like that. Not now.

Mime could hold onto her and make Harlock's body work in unison with her mind. With Mime’s mind.

All parts of the system were resonant. Mime knew and felt that Harlock was struggling, that her exhausted body was working to the limit, but... even so, Mime was absolutely calm. She did not get tired, being in harmony with the one to whom she had gave her life.

And, when Harlock fell into a calm, serene dream, Mime wanted to lie down next to her only because her bond with Harlock had not yet weakened.

But they were advised not to disturb the sick.

***

This time, Kei stumbled upon Dr. Zero in the dining room. This wasn’t so bad considering that he had finished researching pollen-like spores and did not chat about them right at the table.

“I have all the sensor readings, but I can’t explain what was happening in her body at that moment!” Zero was annoyed. “Well, I still cannot explain Mime’s physiology... Yes... But I’ll finish the antidote anyway. At least in theory.”

Kei nodded with interest as she chewed the powdered steak.

“Discussing other crew members?” Harlock grinned, sitting down at the table.

Kei did not hold back a silly smile. How unusual it was to see the captain healthy!

Harlock herself heard only the end, about Mime. Mime... lately, she has been occupying Harlock’s thoughts more and more, just because she already saw Harlock both half dead and crying. Only one person knew Harlock so close… No.

Mime knew. It was not necessary to think of anything else.


End file.
